Locomotive to purchase next

[ncseric]

Career mode - I've unlocked the track south to Sylva and north to Bryson, just about done with the Bryson Bridge. I'm starting to amass a cash hoard and trying to decide which engine is the best bang for the buck as a road freight engine. My thought is that eventually each town/hub should have one of the smaller engines to service the local area but I have a big engine that can act as the manifest freight, pulling the cars from the interchange across the railroad and then returning all the interchange cars that the locals have pulled from industries.

What's the best bang for the buck for my third engine?

I'm also running a passenger train end-to-end with two passenger cars now, probably will be adding a third and/or an observation car for the extra money, not sure how the economics of that work out.

[trumpetplayer105]

I would go with either the 2-10-0 Decapod, 2-8-2 Mikado or the smaller 2-8-0 consolidation. All 3 of them are good for pulling long freight trains early on.

[Sir Rusty Nutts]

My first "Big" locomotive is the C-46. i have yet to get to Sylva, Im working towards the copper mine (Arka?) the thing pulls main line trains any were from 2000 to 3000 tons, it does kinda get iffy closer to 3000 at the gov island hill.

[SquawkVFR1200]

Originally posted by trumpetplayer105:

I would go with either the 2-10-0 Decapod, 2-8-2 Mikado or the smaller 2-8-0 consolidation. All 3 of them are good for pulling long freight trains early on.

My first good more-powerful loco I purchased was the A-26 Atlantic. The reason I selected it is because of the large amount coal and water it can hold.

[kildar501]

I would concentrate on acquiring several of the T-22 Ten Wheelers. They're a true Jack of all trades, Master of none locomotive that can be paired up when the tonnage starts to increase. They've got a good tender capacity and they pull real well. 12 tons of coal and 5000 gallons of water gets a decent job done. The price is pretty decent, too, for what you're getting. Get one for your passenger train with 3 or 4 coaches and the observation car. (I prefer the Palace cars for the aesthetics and that they match the Observation car but dealer's choice.) Have 2 for your sawmill work. A fourth for running the current freight you have and then add a fifth when the tonnage starts to climb like with the coal runs. Later on, they can be used as local switchers as you get even bigger locomotives.

[Sir Rusty Nutts]

Originally posted by Sir Rusty Nutts:

My first "Big" locomotive is the C-46. i have yet to get to Sylva, Im working towards the copper mine (Arka?) the thing pulls main line trains any were from 2000 to 3000 tons, it does kinda get iffy closer to 3000 at the gov island hill.

Just finished the morning shuntting at the sawmill 60 cars 2624 tons going to Bryson yard
[https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3285141791]

[Rockymnt]

I went all diesel. I can't tell you how much time is saved NOT coaling and watering. I prefer diesels anyway. The steam models are wonderful but I don't miss the smoke blocking my views and I certainly like the "milage" of the diesels.

[huddo]

My favourite loco would be the C-46 Consolidation. It can haul 1500 tons + up the grade through the Cowee tunnel, I found it can haul passenger trains at 40 mph when my Pacific was, er, “out of action”. Similar locos were and still are in use on the Murphy Branch. I like the Decapod too and use one for coal drags, it really looks the real deal with all those drivers, only thing is it has no tender headlight, tender swap fixes that.
The observation car pays a bonus only when it’s on the end of the train so some players run with two.

[Rudolf Jan]

I like the S-51 road switchers and the S 23 al lot. They have a good tender capacity, both for coal and water. The S-23 is good for starting players because they are not so expensive. I use them for e.g. logging, pulpwood trains and passenger trains. The S 51 is good for all freight purposes. I look for tractive effort, water and coal capacity only. They also need to be able to deal with the sometimes tight curves and I value adhesion.

[jkjcksn]

Originally posted by Rockymnt:

I went all diesel. I can't tell you how much time is saved NOT coaling and watering. I prefer diesels anyway. The steam models are wonderful but I don't miss the smoke blocking my views and I certainly like the "milage" of the diesels.

Agreed! Although I’ve yet to go ALL diesel, but I'm definitely a fan of them and prefer them over steam locomotives. I presently use them for all my heavy duty work (e.g. traversing the Red Marble Grade to Andrews) while still running G-16 Moguls for most of my local work (I haven’t ventured into any pulpwood contracts yet). Anyway, it’s quite nice not dealing with all the fuss of the steam engines and the smoke in the way of your view. LOL!

[Floydfan52]

Although the steam locomotives are nostalgic and nice to look at, the only way to go is Diesel. (IMO) The run into Topton up the Red Marble Grade is a killer on the steam locomotives. I use 3 GP9's for the run up the grade and onto the Andrews Interchange. I also bought an EMD SW1 for my passenger route. Buy a GP9 ...... you won't be sorry you did.

[JblackTRUCK]

My first "road" engine was a c-46, it can handle at least 65 cars from interchange to Bryson
At this time I don't need another road engine but several small switchers

[kildar501]

I'll agree that the all diesel idea is the best. I had been playing that way and had 8 Geeps and 1 diesel switcher. I started over, though, and haven't gotten back to that level yet because I overextended myself financially very badly doing so. Too many industries too fast required too much outlay for the diesels to handle it all. Scaling up much more slowly this time and not working as many small industries. I'll get back there eventually.